Search results
Criticisms of British rule in India
- Through two weekly newspapers, he voiced his criticisms of British rule in India, hoping to widen the popularity of the nationalist movement beyond the upper classes.
www.britannica.com/summary/Bal-Gangadhar-Tilak
People also ask
Why did Bal Gangadhar Tilak publish two newspapers?
How many newspapers did Gangadhar Tilak start?
Who was Bal Gangadhar Tilak?
Why was Bal Gangadhar Tilak imprisoned?
Why did Mahratta start a newspaper in 1881?
Why did Gangadhar Tilak join the Indian National Congress?
Bal Gangadhar Tilak used to run his two newspapers, Kesari, in Marathi and Mahratta (Run by Kesari-Maratha Trust)[4] in English from Kesari Wada, Narayan Peth, Pune. The newspapers were originally started as a co-operative by Chiplunkar, Agarkar and Tilak.
Apr 9, 2022 · He co-founded the newspapers Kesari (in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English) in 1881 with G.G. Agarkar (in English). He took over the two papers in 1888 and used their columns to spread anti-British sentiment and preach national resistance.
- Overview
- Early life and career
- Rise to national prominence
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, called “Maker of Modern India” by Mahatma Gandhi and “Father of the Indian Revolution” by Jawaharlal Nehru, helped lay the foundation for Indian swaraj (self-rule). He introduced Hindu symbolism and Maratha traditions into the nationalist movement, initiated the passive resistance that later characterized Gandhi’s noncooperation program (satyagraha), and headed the Lucknow Pact.
What were Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s beliefs?
Bal Gangadhar Tilak looked to orthodox Hinduism and Maratha history as sources for nationalist inspiration against the British raj. While this alienated many Indian Muslims, he led the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which lay the groundwork for Hindu-Muslim unity. Moreover, he formulated a program of passive resistance that inspired Mahatma Gandhi’s noncooperation movement.
How was Bal Gangadhar Tilak educated?
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was educated at Deccan College in Poona (now Pune), where he earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Sanskrit. He then studied law at the University of Bombay (now Mumbai). Afterward he became an educator, which became the basis for his political career.
How did Bal Gangadhar Tilak become important?
Tilak was born into a cultured middle-class Brahman family. Although his birth place was Bombay (Mumbai), he was raised in a village along the Arabian Sea coast in what is now Maharashtra state until the age of 10, when his father, an educator and noted grammarian, took a job in Poona (now Pune). The young Tilak was educated at Deccan College in Poona, where in 1876,he earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Sanskrit. Tilak then studied law, receiving his degree in 1879 from the University of Bombay (now Mumbai). At that point, however, he decided to teach mathematics in a private school in Poona. The school became the basis for his political career. He developed the institution into a university college after founding the Deccan Education Society (1884), which aimed at educating the masses, especially in the English language; he and his associates considered English to be a powerful force for the dissemination of liberal and democratic ideals.
The life members of the society were expected to follow an ideal of selfless service, but when Tilak learned that some members were keeping outside earnings for themselves, he resigned. He then turned to the task of awakening the political consciousness of the people through two weekly newspapers that he owned and edited: Kesari (“The Lion”), published in Marathi, and The Mahratta, published in English. Through those newspapers Tilak became widely known for his bitter criticisms of British rule and of those moderate nationalists who advocated social reforms along Western lines and political reforms along constitutional lines. He thought that social reform would only divert energy away from the political struggle for independence.
Tilak’s activities aroused the Indian populace, but they soon also brought him into conflict with the British government, which prosecuted him for sedition and sent him to jail in 1897. The trial and sentence earned him the title Lokamanya (“Beloved Leader of the People”). He was released after 18 months.
When Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, partitioned Bengal in 1905, Tilak strongly supported the Bengali demand for the annulment of the partition and advocated a boycott of British goods, which soon became a movement that swept the nation. The following year he set forth a program of passive resistance, known as the Tenets of the New Party, that he hoped would destroy the hypnotic influence of British rule and prepare the people for sacrifice in order to gain independence. Those forms of political action initiated by Tilak—the boycotting of goods and passive resistance—were later adopted by Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi in his program of nonviolent noncooperation with the British (satyagraha).
Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!
Learn More
Tilak’s approach was strong fare for the moderate Indian National Congress (Congress Party), which believed in making “loyal” representations to the government for small reforms. Tilak aimed at swarajya (independence), not piecemeal reforms, and attempted to persuade the Congress Party to adopt his militant program. On that issue, he clashed with the moderates during the party’s session (meeting) at Surat (now in Gujarat state) in 1907, and the party split. Taking advantage of the division in the nationalist forces, the government again prosecuted Tilak on a charge of sedition and inciting terrorism and deported him to Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), to serve a six-year prison sentence.
In the Mandalay jail, Tilak settled down to write his magnum opus, the Śrīmad Bhagavadgitā Rahasya (“Secret of the Bhagavadgita”)—also known as Bhagavad Gita or Gita Rahasya—an original exposition of the most-sacred book of the Hindus. Tilak discarded the orthodox interpretation that the Bhagavadgita (a component of the Mahabharata epic poem) taught the ideal of renunciation; in his view it taught selfless service to humanity. Earlier, in 1893, he had published The Orion; or, Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas, and, a decade later, The Arctic Home in the Vedas. Both works were intended to promote Hindu culture as the successor to the Vedic religion and his belief that its roots were in the so-called Aryans from the north.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Bal Gangadhar Tilak (pronunciation ⓘ; born Keshav Gangadhar Tilak [3] [4] (pronunciation: [keʃəʋ ɡəŋɡaːd̪ʱəɾ ʈiɭək]); 23 July 1856 – 1 August 1920), endeared as Lokmanya (IAST: Lokamānya), was an Indian nationalist, teacher, and an independence activist.
Towards his nationalistic goals, Bal Gangadhar Tilak published two newspapers -'Mahratta' (English) and 'Kesari' (Marathi). Both the newspapers stressed on making the Indians aware of the glorious past and encouraged the masses to be self reliant.
In 1881, he established two newspapers, the Marathi Kesari (Lion), and The Mahratta, published in English, to arouse political consciousness in the general population. After being imprisoned for sedition from 1908–1914, he emerged a political leader and helped to found the Home Rule League.
Tilak started two newspapers which were totally dedicated to nationalism and freedom struggle. They were: Kesarī in Marāṭhī. Marāthā in English. His revolutionary writings in these journals made him a hero in the eyes of the people and also roused the wrath of the British rulers.
